The invention relates to seating and particularly to vehicular seating of the type used in trucks, vans and motor homes. Although such seats are usually sold without side arms, it is common practice to include brackets under the seat back upholstery which are accessible for attaching arms, as evident in U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,799, for example. Many drivers find that side arms increase their comfort, and either have optional side arms installed on a seat when purchased or at a later date. Side arms are particularly useful on suspended seats since they move up and down with the seat and are thus more comfortable to use than fixed armrests mounted on the vehicle doors. They are also quite comfortable on seats that can pivot. In high cab trucks, side arms offer a convenient gripping "handle" which drivers often use to help pull themselves up into the seat.
Since it is desirable that the side arm be pivotable to a vertical storage position when not needed or when it would be in the way, such as when the driver is entering or leaving the seat, it is obvious that the side arm and its supporting bracket on the seat frame must be quite strong. Conventionally, heavy duty side arms which have been strong enough to resist substantial side pulling forces have been attached to the seat by heavy bolts and nuts, necessitating the use of removable upholstery on the arm and requiring a significant amount of installation time.
It would be most desirable to be able to firmly mount a heavy duty side arm to a seat by merely pushing it into position and it is among the objects of the present invention to provide such a side arm.